Young hands shine on first night

Jul. 29, 2008

Toston's Scott Owens rides Ike Sankey's Lewis in the bareback event at Tuesday night's first performance of the Big Sky Pro Rodeo at the Montana State Fair. Owens recorded a score of 78. / TRIBUNE PHOTO/RION SANDERS

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Tribune Asst. Sports Editor

The young and the restless sparkled in prime time and stole the spotlight from some of Montana's best old hands Tuesday night as the Big Sky Pro Rodeo Roundup got under way at Montana ExpoPark.

Youthful performers such as bareback star Cimmaron Gerke, team ropers Chase Tryan and Brady Tryan, and barrel racer Danna Whitford were among the top competitors as a crowd of about 2,000 watched the first of five performances at the State Fair.

Gerke, a 26-year-old from Colorado, is gunning for a second straight trip to the National Finals Rodeo. His 89-point ride Tuesday night might just help. Certainly it made his aching muscles feel a little better.

"I've been a little sore here and there, but nothing major," said Gerke. "My shoulder surgery is holding up pretty good from last year. I broke my ankle about a year ago in Dodge City and it was hurting a little bit early today. I don't know why. But it feels good right now.

Shoulder surgery?

"Just everything was torn," he said. "It was about 10 years of stuff built up in there. Just years of abuse."

He said quitting the rodeo is not an option.

"It's my job. I've gotta make a living unless I want to go get a regular job," said Gerke. "I'm young enough that I can heal up from it."

The Tryan boys aren't as well-known as their older relatives, Clay and Travis, who are two of the best headers in the world. Brady is a half-brother to Clay and Travis, while Chase is a cousin.

The younger Tryans combined for a 5-second run that was the best of the first performance.

The barrel racing, meanwhile, was dominated by the jockeys who competed in the slack following the regular performance. Danna Whitford of Browning took the lead in the first go-round with a 15.16-second run, Sidney's Rayna Rice went 15.17 in her slack run. Theresa Walter of Billings (15.34) and Mandy Whitford of Browning (15.50) were also fast competitors in the slack.

While Cody Buller, 28, is also a relatively young rodeo performer, he's feeling his age a bit these days. At least it seemed that way when the Glendive man admitted that he's no longer hitting the road hard in search of an NFR berth.

"Right now I don't have the ambition to go down the road and that's what you've got to do to make the Fi-nals," said Buller, who earned a trip to the big Las Vegas rodeo in 2004 and for the last decade has been one of the top bull riders in the nation.

On Tuesday he was only on to make a qualified bull ride.

"I got to the whistle, that's what was special about it," Buller said with a chuckle.

He shook his head when asked if he was heading down the rodeo road later this week.

"I've just been sticking around the horse and spending time with my family," he said. "I'm just going to the close ones anymore."

Close? Glendive is about five hours from Great Falls.

"I'm used to going 10 states away, so five hours is pretty close," Buller said.

Buller said he might change his mind about this.

"If I wanted to, I still could go hard. And I might," he said. "Not like I'm retiring or anything."

That dreaded R word — retirement — was spoken by a few of Montana's most venerable rodeo hands this night. Ryan Mapston of Belt, the 11-time NFR qualifier who has long been one of the top bronc riders in the business, doctor-released out of Tuesday's performance after a recent appendectomy.

While Mapston stopped short of saying he was putting up the saddle for good, he admitted that his family was much more important these days than traveling near and far to rodeos.

Jess Martin of Dillon, another of Montana's most famous bronc riders, did ride Tuesday night. The four-time NFR qualifier and former Western Montana College football star said he has decided that this will be his last year in search of a trip to Las Vegas. He said a Montana circuit championship still entices him, though, and he plans to enter more of the Treasure State rodeos in the fugure.

Other event leaders after Tuesday, meanwhile, included Glendive native Shaun Stroh of Dickinson, N.D., in the saddle bronc. He edged Tyler Corrington, a rare Minnesota rodeo performer, for top honors Tuesday.

Jesse Kruse, a former C.M. Russell High wrestler and football player, is now one of the top bronc riders in the business. Kruse, who is ranked 14th in the world standings this year, was upstaged a bit by Stroh et. al. on Tuesday. But it was all right.

"A guy finda feels like he can halfways ride when he's sitting up that high in the world standings," said Kruse.

Crowds approaching 2,500 to 3,000 are expected the rest of the week at the fair, as the Ike Sankey-produced rodeo continues in front of the ExpoPark grandstand.

"I thought it was a great performance and very respectfully attended," said State Fair general manager Bill Ogg of Tuesday's show. "We think the rodeo will provide great entertainment the rest of the week."